God Speaks
God Uses Hosea’s Family to Illustrate His Relationship with His People
Verse of the Day: The LORD said to me, “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress. Love her as the LORD loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes.” (Hosea 3:1 NIV 2011)
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We Respond
Reflection:
Consider the following questions regarding Hosea 1-7
> 1. What does this chapter tell me about God?
> 2. What does this chapter tell me about the human beings He created?
Here is one possible answer to each of these questions. Ask the Holy Spirit if there are any others for you personally to ponder.
Hosea 1
1. God sometimes asks His people to do strange things in order to illustrate His point or test they faith.
2. People need to trust and obey Him as Hosea did.
Hosea 2
1. God is the source of righteousness and justice, love and compassion, faithfulness and acknowledgement.
2. People often attribute the source of their blessings to themselves or to anything other than the LORD God.
Hosea 3
1. God will sometimes withhold His blessings from the people He loves in order to get their attention back on Him.
2. People will return and seek the LORD their God to receive His blessings.
Hosea 4
1. God deserves our acknowledgement, faithfulness and love.
2. When confronted with their own sins or mistakes, people tend to automatically blame someone else.
Hosea 5
1. God holds leaders more responsible than individual people.
2. At times even God’s people’s (particularly their leaders’) actions do not permit them to return to their God; they do not acknowledge the LORD.
Hosea 6
1. God will heal and restore people if they will repent and turn back to Him.
2. People often determine to return to the LORD in hopes that He will heal them, but then fail to do so.
Hosea 7
1. God desires to heal and restore Hi wayward people.
2. When God’s people move away from Him, they become like highway robbers, court jesters, bakers’ ovens, half-cooked pancakes, flighty birds, self-cutters, faulty bows, and butts of jokes.
Prayer:
> 3. How might I pray regarding Hosea 1-7?
Prayer: Thank You, LORD God, for being a good husband and loving us (all Your people) so much that You won’t let us get by with our waywardness (whatever form it takes). Please continue to hold us accountable, but also keep reminding us that Jesus, the very Son of God, took all of the punishment our sins deserved so that You can be just as You take us back. Please draw multitudes of people back to You. LORD God, You are the husband, provider, and protector of each believer as well as the nation that follows You. Please, by Your mercy and grace, forgive our sins. Among these are our lack of faithfulness, kindness, and knowledge of You, LORD God. We make vows only to break them. We steal, kill, and commit adultery. There is violence and murder throughout the land. There is great pollution of land, water, and air. Animals, birds, fish, and humans are dying because we are not managing the earth as You instructed us. The blame for all of this wrongdoing lies on both individuals and leaders in government, business, education, media, families, culture, and religion. I agree, Your people are being destroyed because we do not know You or follow your ways. Because we refuse to acknowledge You, You have every right to refuse our pleas and requests. We have exchanged Your glory for the shame of idols. Our worship is not sincere and is not received with sincere motives by the priests. We are foolish people seeking after false gods; therefore, we will be destroyed. O LORD, help those who love You not be drawn in the wrong direction, away from You. You hold leaders more responsible than their followers. You know what we are genuinely like and see what we try to hide. Just trying to do good won’t get us back to You, LORD God. We stumble under our load of guilt. We have betrayed Your honor. May the true people of God wake up and sound the warning so that the nation will not be destroyed. Please, don’t let us turn to other nations, gods, and ideologies (away from You) for help, for then You will have to use strong measures to restore us. Let us come together and seek You, LORD, before it is too late. Please help us to carry through on our decisions to return to trusting and obeying You and following Your ways. Help us instead to be generous givers, speakers of truth and love, even-tempered, nourishers, those who calmly reassure, true and strong weapons in Your hands, and encouragers who build up others. All of this to honor our great and gracious husband, You, LORD God. AMEN
Action: (Ask God, the Holy Spirit, if He wants you to work on one of the suggestions below or something else more personal that He points out.)
> 4. What action does the LORD want me to take in response to Hosea 1-7?
With the help of God’s Holy Spirit:
- I will ask the Holy Spirit to draw people who say they believe in Jesus back to their faithful husband, the LORD God.
- I will tell someone that God will set them free from their addictions and burdens, not by their own efforts or willpower but by His mercy and grace if they will trust and follow Him.
- I will do whatever the Holy Spirit shows me in order for me to have a closer relationship with God.
- I will confess the sins of myself and my nation to God and to other people as appropriate.
Share: I plan to share what I’ve learned with __________.